Executive Committee Meeting January 13, 2026
Meeting
GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB, MONTPELIER
Minutes of the Executive Committee
January 13, 2026
The meeting was held at Ken Hertz’s house and was called to order by Steve Bailey at 6:12
Present were: Steve Bailey, Heather Bailey, Missy Ethridge, Rob Penney, Heidi Kunkel, Scott Richardson, Ken Hertz and we were joined via Zoom by Phyllis Rubenstein and Morgan Irons.
Approval of October 21. 2025 Minutes – A motion to approve the minutes was made by Heidi and seconded by Rob and approved by all.
Editor’s Report (Morgan Irons)
Morgan has advised us that she will be leaving us as the editor. She could probably do the next Trail Talk if needed (due February 10). We have asked her to write a blurb about the job. She did state that typically it takes her about 8 hours to get it ready but if reports are submitted late, then that could take another 3-4 hours as she would have to reformat it. She currently uses a MAC program but it could be done in Word. She overlapped with the former editor so could do the same for someone taking on the job. There are a few people that Phyllis will contact to see if they are interested. The transition time would depend on the experience of whomever takes the job. We will send out an email and put it in the newsletter that we are seeking an editor for the Trail Talk.
Directors Report (Phyllis Rubenstein)
Phyllis reported that the last Main Club Board of Director’s Meeting was in December. The next one is in March. There were three major governance issues addressed at the meeting. The first, is to streamline language in the bylaws for practical and legal reasons. One new requirement is that all executive committee members must be directors. The second change is to clarify the Main Club’s fiduciary responsibility/fiscal sponsorship and liability for the sections.
The third issue is controversial. There are currently 32 directors, one from each of the 14 sections and the remainder at-large members. The board of directors is not currently functioning as a decision-making group because of its size. Rather business is generally performed by the Executive Committee and the section directors communicate board actions to the sections. The governance committee has recommended reducing the number of directors to 15 — 2 from sections and the remainder from at-large membership. The reasoning is that the at-large directors would be selected for their skills.
It was reported that 40% of members are from sections and 60% are at-large members. At the director’s meeting, Phyllis suggested that at-large members who have primary residences in VT be encouraged to join a section. That suggestion did not go far.
Some section directors suggested having at least 7 section directors. But that was not the prevailing view. There was discussion that section directors would be elected from different sections each year. Section directors would not be expected to attend section EC meetings; instead they would attend an enhanced section presidents group.
Someone at our meeting asked how to access minutes of the Main Club Director’s meetings. Phyllis said they are circulated before an upcoming meeting, but she did not know how to access them immediately after a meeting.
In other news, The Trails Maintenance Committee is working on a relocation of the LT north of Bamforth Ridge, called the Winooski Valley Relocation, in order to move the trail off of private property. The proposed relocation heads west parallel to Duxbury Road at a higher elevation than the current trail, parting from the current trail at Gleason Brook. It continues past Preston Brook and Honey Hollow Road, and rejoins the current trail near the bridge. Phyllis thought that once the trail was relocated, the current trail would remain a side trail. Phyllis and Dave Hathaway are going to join Keegan Tierney, GMC staff, to visit the proposed relocation. Heidi and Scott asked to be included. Phyllis offered to send them the map of the proposed relocation and to ask Keegan if they could join us.
Finally, the Land Conservation Committee is reaching out to landowners adjacent to the LT to discuss developing conservation plans. Sections are being asked to reach out to identified landowners. Since the Montpelier section members are unlikely to know landowners in the section of the LT that we maintain, Phyllis was not sure what our involvement would be in the process.
President’s Report (Steve Bailey)
Steve has been advised that we will have a demo of the new Website by the end of January and an email was sent to Heidi that he promises we will get it then. It will make reporting so much easier as the current website is way too complicated. Steve then mentioned that we need to plan our Annual Meeting. Last year it was held in mid May at the Grange which was the most affordable. We need a planning committee so Heather, Missy and Rob have volunteered. We need a speaker and since we had more people for our forest talk it was suggested that we get someone from the outside. Phyllis will think about this as maybe a naturalist or have one of the speakers that has talked at North Branch. We do have to have reports sent so we can have them consolidated into one report that we hand out. Phyllis has offered to print the copies which means she should have the reports by April 15. Also we need to be more active in publicizing the event. We have chosen May 1 as the best date so Scott will secure the venue. The hours will be from 5:00 or 5:30 to 8:00. First will be the social hour, then we will eat, then the meeting and the speaker will be last and speak approximately 45 minutes. A potential speaker could be Tara Dower who broke the record for running the Long Trail.
Regarding whether we need a nominating committee all of us agreed to stay in our positions for next year so a committee is not needed.
Membership Report (Heather Bailey)
Good news from the GMC. They have successfully transitioned to their new system. It reaches out to those who are due for renewal. We now get monthly reports of who has renewed. Hopefully, this will help reduce the number of members who fail to renew but intend to. Our membership stands at 219, number of members, 322. We are holding steady.
Trails and Shelter Report (Heidi Kunkel)
Heidi noted that there will be another Chainsaw Workshop as some need to recertify so they may book a date where people will be interested. The current certification only lasts 2 years so Scott will be interested. The new certification may have a section about storm damage. It would be nice if we could get younger members interested.
March Talk by Scott Richardson – Scott had planned to give his talk about his trip to Patagonia but we will now schedule it for possibly March 9 or whatever date may be convenient at the Library as we want to have it when the library is open until 8:00 on Mondays or Wednesdays. He will write a blurb about it and put it on our calendar and send it to FPF.
Treasurer’s Report (Scott Richardson)
Beginning Checking Balance ……………………………………………… $11.939.92
Expenses ………Trails and Shelter, Events, Others………………… – $3,278.15
Income………….Section Dues from GMC……Dividends……………… .$599.73
Current Savings Balance…………with $2.00 interest……………… …$1,686.05
Current Checking Balance………………………………………………….. $9261.50
TOTAL CASH ASSETS………………………………………………………… $10,947.55
150% of projected operating budget is $7,950
We have the $3000 that was approved previously to send to the main chapter
but will hold off on sending this until the website is done
Scott did suggest we should buy more equipment. We should have 3 batteries per chainsaw. Only certified people use them. He thought we should get some silky saws and Heidi agreed.
Next Meeting – the next meeting is scheduled for Monday April 13 at 6:00 at Scott’s house.
Adjournment – a motion by Heidi and seconded by Heather to adjourn the meeting was made and we adjourned at 7:34.
Respectfully submitted,
Missy Ethridge, Secretary